Mechanical fire starter or lighter



(No Model.)

I M. MQOMBER. MECHANICAL FIRE STARTER OR LIGHTER- N0. 430,873. 'PatentedJun'e 24, 1890.

FFlEe I PATENT MARVIN MOOMBER, OF OTTAlVA, KANSAS.

MECHANICAL. FIRE STARTER OR LlGHTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,873, dated .1 une 24, 1890. Application filed March 3, 1890. Serial No. 342,350. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARVIN MCOMBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ottawa, in the State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Fire Starters or Lighters; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to devices for automatically lighting a fire by striking a match upon a roughened surface and holding it to a piece of inflammable material, as paper, &c., from which the flames are communicated to the material which had been prepared beforehand to make the fire; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such a device which shall possess points of superiority, durability, and general efficiency, as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which the same numerals indicate corresponding parts in each of the views, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front part of a stove with my improved fire-lighter on the hearth in position for use and showing a plan view of the mechanism for operating it. Fig.

2 is a plan view of fuse-holder. Figs. 3 and i are side and plan views of the ignition plate. Fig. 5 is a detail View of the mechanism for securing the match-arm and for releasing it; and Fig. 6 is a bottom plan View of the invention, showing the cord orlanyard for connecting the latch-lever with the operating mechanism secured upon a reel.

In a great many places it is often very desirable to have some means by which the fire can be started at some predetermined time, and especially where there is an alarm of some kind to awaken the person who is to use the fire after it has been started, as thus time will be saved and the room will be warmed up before it has to be occupied.

Although my invention is applicable to the fires in factories, stores, and in offices, I have shown it in connection with an ordinary kitchen-stove 1 within which the material has been placed ready to make the fire as soon as the match is applied. A fuse 2, as apiece of paper or other inflammable material, is

placed in such a position that after the match 3 has been rubbed across the face of the igni tion-plate 4 it is brought into contact with the fuse, which is thus ignited and its flames communicated to the material in the stove. The fuse may be connected with the material within the stove in any convenient manner; but I have shown it held by a fuse-holder consisting of the two jaws 5 and 6, which are sufficiently elastic to permit of the fuse being easily inserted between them.

The match is held at the outer end of an arm 7, which is pivotally secured at one end upon the post 8 in the base 9, and is swung around toward the fire by means of the coiled spring 10, one end of which is secured to the base and the other end engages with the arm.

The match is held in a transverse groove 11 by the springkeeper 12, which is secured to the arms at one end, so that its opposite end can be drawn or forced back from the arm when the match is inserted. The ignition-plate is preferably made out of a thin segmental piece of flexible material, and is secured at one end to the base 9, and has its opposite end slightly raised or elevated, so that as the match is drawn across its upper face the frictional contact between the two will be increased and the free end of the plate will be forced down out of the way. The face of the plate can be roughenedby sand, emery, or corrundum to insure the ignition of the match.

The match-arm is held from swinging toward the fire by means of a notched peg or pin 13 in its outer end, which is engaged by a latch-lever 14, pivotally secured to a latchpost 15 at one corner of the base. The post may be provided with a notch 1.6, through which the peg projects when being held by the lever. The longer arm of the latch-lever is heavier than the shorter arm, which engages with the peg, and therefore, when the match-arm is brought back until the peg projeets through the opening 16, the weight of the outer end of the lever is sufficient to hold the shorter end in engagement with the notch in the under side of the peg; but when it is desired to release the arm to start the fire it is only necessary to raise the outer end of the latch-lever, which may be done in any convenient manner; but I have shown it in con- 'of the base.

nection with and adapted to be operated by the alarm mechanism of a clock 17. If the clockds at a distance from the stove, as in another portion of the same or in an adjoining room, the connection between the two is most readily made by means of a series of bell-crank levers 18 and 19, which are connected with each other and with theclock and the rod 20, wires 21, and cord or lanyard 22 in the same way that ordinary bell-hanging is done. The rod 20 is secured at one end to a sector Wheel or plate 23, which engages with the alarm-Wheel 24, and is drawn in a short distance by the movement of the wheel 23, which is caused to make about one-third of a revolution when the alarm is sounded. The inward movement of the rod operates the bell-crank levers and the wires and lanyard sufficiently to raise the outer end of the latchlever and release the notched peg in the match-arm, which is being held bythe shorter end of the lever. As soon as the match-arm is thus released, it is swung around by the spring 10, and the match is drawn across the ignition-plate and caused to burn. The arm is stopped by coming in contact with the fusepost, which is preferably secured to the edge The fire of the matchis communicated to the fuse, which burns readily and communicates its flames to the material within the stove and the fire started as well as though the match had been struck and applied in the ordinary manner.

The base is preferably made out of a piece of non-combustible material and is of sufficient weight to not be easily moved out of its position after it has been arranged to start a fire. It can be placed upon the hearth of the stove or in front of a grate, and may be provided withshort legs 25. In some cases it may be necessary to use a longer cord orlanyard than in others, so I provide one which is of sufficient length to connect with the end of the wire 21, and then after making its intermediate part fast to the latch-lever I wind the remaining portion upon a flat disk-like reel 26, which is placed upon the under side ofthe base, and is operated by the folding winch or handle 27, or it may be spring-actuated. The cord is passed through a hole in the base, convenient to the latch-lever, and is provided with a hook or button 28 to engage with the lower end of the wire 21.

The latch-lever 145 is prevented from being drawn too far up by the lanyard or being twisted off the post 15 by a staple 29,'which is driven into the base near the post with its upper end over the lever. A pin or screw 30 is fastened in the base, upon which the outer end of the lever rests when the opposite end is not in engagement with the pin on the end of the match-arm; or, instead of the staple and screw, as above described, two studs 31 31 can be secured in the latch-post, one above base, of the pivot-post 8 and the other below the end of the lever, and against which it engages when it is at, the limit of its movement in either direction.

As above described, the material may be placed in the grate of a stove in the evening before retiring and then my fire-starter placed in position andconnected with the operatingline wire and the alarm of the clock set for any given hour of the following morning. WVhen thepredetermined hour arrives the occupants of the house are aroused by the sounding of the alarm and the match released from its position and the fire started, and by the time the housekeeper can get ready to prepare the meal the fire is burning nicely and the room is warm and comfortable. The device is then unloosened from the operating-wire and removed from the stove until it is needed again, when it is again arranged and operated as before. It can also be applied to the parlor-fire and be caused to light it at any predetermined hour, or it may be operated mechanically at any time and at a distance from it by drawing upon the cord or wire, which is extended to the point from which it is desired to operate it.

Having thus described my invention, but without limiting myself to the exact construction shown, I claim- 1. In an automatic fire-starter, the combination, with a base, of a match-arm pivotally secured thereto at one end and adapted to receive a match at the other end, a spring for operating the arm, and a thin flexible ignitionplate having one end secured to the base and its other end raised or elevated and in the path of the free end of the match-arm, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the supportingthereon, the matchholder arm 7, pivot-ed at one end on said post and having the match-groove 11 and keeperspring 12 at its opposite end, the ignitionplate 4, the latch-post 15, recessed at its upper end, the pivoted latch-lever, the lanyard 22, connected with one end of said lever, the bell-crank levers and connections, and the notched peg on the match-holder arm, all adapted to operate substantially as specified.

3. In an automatic fire-starter, the combination, with the pivoted spring actuated match-holder arm having its outer end provided with a matclrreceiving notch, of a spring-keeper secured over said notch, the latch-post notched at its upper end, the latchlever pivoted thereto, and the stop-post 30, all substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARVIN MCOMBER.

a Witnesses:

R. H. SEMPLE, ED. T. BIRD. 

